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Name of 13-year-old girl swept away in Boulder Creek withheld

By Amy Bounds, Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
06/01/2014 08:31:51 PM MDT

Updated:
06/02/2014 07:29:25 AM MDT

The truck involved in the Saturday afternoon accident that led to the death of a 13-year-old girl from Nederland sits on a tow truck in Boulder Canyon after it is pulled from Boulder Creek on Sunday afternoon. (Paul Aiken / Daily Camera)

At the family's request, the Boulder County Coroner's Office on Sunday held off on releasing the name of a 13-year-old Nederland girl who died Saturday after being swept away in Boulder Creek.

Her name is expected to be released Monday morning.

The girl was swept away when the pickup truck she was riding in struck another vehicle that had stopped for a bear in the road, then careened into the waterway.

Boulder County crews pulled the truck out of the water late Sunday. The Colorado State Patrol, which is handling the accident investigation, did not respond Sunday to requests for comment.

On Saturday, the girl floated several miles down the fast-moving, runoff-swollen creek, with personnel from more than a dozen agencies attempting to reach her at various points.

The pickup truck that crashed into Boulder Creek less than a mile west of the intersection of Sugarloaf Road and Canyon Boulevard can be seen in the surging waters late Saturday evening. Attempts to recover the vehicle were halted as the truck was being swept downstream. (David R. Jennings / Daily Camera)

It was not until 6:07 p.m. — about 90 minutes after the crash occurred less than a mile west of the intersection of Sugarloaf Road and Canyon Boulevard — that the girl was pulled from the section of the creek that runs behind Boulder High School.

The crash took place shortly before 4:45 p.m.

According to Cmdr. Steve Cullen of the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, the girl was riding in a pickup truck with her father and sister, age unknown, when the father stopped suddenly on eastbound Canyon Boulevard, in an attempt to avoid hitting a car that had stopped suddenly in front of it to avoid a bear.

Cullen said the driver swerved, but hit the back of the car. The truck flew into the creek, where it would remained submerged until Sunday afternoon.

Both the girl's father and sister were able to climb out of the water and get to safety, officials said.

When it became apparent that a girl had been swept away, teams then deployed up and down Boulder Creek in an attempt to rescue her from the water.

More than 50 emergency responders were scene, and search crews staged along Boulder Creek at the Boulder County Justice Center and, later, at Boulder High School.

The girl, neither conscious nor breathing, was recovered from the creek by a diver directly behind the school, and was immediately transported to Boulder Community Health.

The sheriff's office announced shortly after 9 p.m. that the girl had died, though the cause of death was not immediately released.

The circumstances surrounding the rescue were made extremely difficult by the unusually high rate at which Boulder Creek has been flowing. Just two days prior to this incident, Sheriff Joe Pelle announced a ban on tubing on Boulder Creek from Nederland to Erie, as water was flowing as much as eight times the typical rate.

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